Chow Down Atlanta

• Ranch 99 is being re-opened as… Super H Mart!!!
• HY Market on North Berkeley Lake Rd in Duluth has declared bankruptcy and will not open.  (Sad.)
• LA Pho inside Point Berkeley International Village has closed.
• Pho Hoa, a BuHi institution (5150 Buford Highway), is moving down the street from the CDC.
• My long lost grandma is back in the saddle at Pho Ca Dao.  (Ok, not really.  But it would be nice if she really were my grandma.  Oh how I wish.) You will remember Pho Ca Dao back in the late 90s when it used to be in the Burlington Coat Factory plaza on the corner of Dresden and Buford Highway. The new location is 4646 Buford Highway NW, Atlanta, GA 30341. And yes, same grandma is cooking.
  
• V-1′s original chef has moved from their flagship (corner BuHi and N. Berkeley) to their outpost inside Super H Johns Creek where food is much better.

• Toast of the Town Atlanta is next week on Thursday, April 8, 2010 at the Georgia Aquarium. Purchase tickets here and use code PATL10 to get $10 off grand tickets and $20 off VIP tickets. Go if you’ve never been. My sister and I went the other year and it was such a fun event — especially since you can watch the belugas from the “very-important-people-only-you’re-not-worthy” section which is on the other side of the public viewing area. Warning: pace yourself or you’ll go home drunk. Get a DD or take a cab home.
• Han Il Kwan is moving to its new home in Duluth (Pleasant Hill Road where Seoul Garden used to be) on April 6.
• Once Han Il Kwan moves out, Tofu 88 will take over its space.
• Lastly, I’m off this Friday to somewhere sunny and sandy.  Be back in 11 days.  Don’t worry, you won’t even notice I’m gone

to Duluth (where else?)

In about 30 days or so.

Somewhere on Pleasant Hill Rd.

Stay tuned as they’ll let me know the minute they know the exact date.

Related post: Han Il Kwan

Technorati Tags: news, Korean

I’m still in the land of sun, water, and sand but I thought I’d let you in on what’s happening around town…

• My favorite Phoenix Noodle closed on July 27.  The chef/owner decided not to renew their lease after 6 years and is now retired from the restaurant business.  He was able to send all 4 sons to college and is now time for him to relax.  You’ll remember him from his stint at Canton House where he was co-owner (and brother) of the current owner.  Food tasted better when he was there.  Incidentally, I was his very first customer and very last.  I was a little teary eyed when my family left the place and they locked their doors and turned off the Open sign when we got out for the last and final time.
• V1 BBQ opened a new spot inside the Super H Mart in Johns Creek exactly a month ago.  The menu is a condensed version of their original restaurant on BuHi and they mainly offer their barbecue meats and noodle soups.
• Super H Mart Doraville (where Shoya Izakaya sits nearby) isn’t slated to open until possibly November 2009.  The reason:  economy.
• HY Marketplace on North Berkeley Rd off Pleasant Hill in Gwinnett has not been granted a much needed loan as of this writing.  This was originally set to compete with Super H Mart but received a cease-and-desist from the latter due to a dispute in the store’s name.  After losing the legal battle, a super arcade opened in its place.  It was short lived as expected.  It plans to re-open as a competition to Super H once a loan has been secured.
• The owners of King and I (a Thai restaurant on Piedmont Ave.) is opening Zen Sushi on Peachtree St.
• A new Moroccan restaurant is slated to open soon on PIB in Duluth.

I was just told by a longtime Chinese friend that Ming’s BBQ is set to open its second location in Duluth not far from Super H. Construction should be finished in a month or two. This is great news. I’ll update as I know more.

Technorati Tags: Ming’s BBQ, Chinese cuisine, barbeque